Ion Energy raises Rs 26 crore from investors including Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund

Mumbai-headquartered Ion Energy an energy-tech startup building advanced electronics and software platforms for new energy enterprises has raised $3.6 million (Rs 26 crore) in Pre-Series A funding from investors including Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund and Silicon Valley-based Climate Capital, early-stage investor YourNest Venture Capital, Riso Capital, Venture Catalysts, and other angel investors. 

The company says it will use the funds to expand its team to over 125 employees from present 70 employees, invest in product development, and expand the software business in North America and Europe. As part of the round, Anup Menon, head of Strategy & Emerging Technology at Bank of America will join Ion’s board of Directors.

Akhil Aryan, co-founder and CEO, Ion Energy said: “Globally, we believe 2021 will be the inflection point for the new energy transition as both companies and governments come together towards reducing carbon emissions. At Ion, we’re confident that advanced electronics and software that help enterprises accelerate this transition will become mission-critical to meet our goals of a zero-carbon future.”

The start-up was founded in 2016 the company has operations in France and the United States. The company offers smart battery management platform (BMS) that leverages proprietary algorithms to improve battery life and performance. Ion Energy typically sells it as a product or a technology license to OEMs that are developing lithium-ion batteries and/or electric vehicles.

At present, the company works with more than 75 customers in the mobility and energy industry across 15 countries, including India, France, Spain and the US. In February 2021, Ion Energy announced its partnership with Spanish electric-scooter startup, Ray Electric Motors.

The company says till date it has deployed 60,000 smart BMS in electric vehicles and stationary storage systems.

Kara Hurst, VP and Head of Worldwide Sustainability, Amazon said: “As we continue to identify visionary companies whose products and solutions will facilitate the transition to a low-carbon economy, we’re proud to invest in Ion Energy, our first investment in India through the $2 billion (Rs 14,802 crore) Climate Pledge Fund. We are inspired by Ion’s mission to build technologies that improve the life and performance of lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles and energy storage systems, ultimately scaling solutions that help us all achieve our ambitious climate goals.”

Amazon launched The Climate Pledge Fund in 2020, a $2 billion fund to support companies developing sustainable technologies for a zero-carbon future. To date, Amazon has invested in companies across industries including BETA Technologies, CarbonCure Technologies, Infinium, Pachama, Redwood Materials, Rivian, TurnTide, ZeroAvia, and now Ion Energy.

Ion Energy says the funds will enable it to serve its customers in its $15 million (Rs 111 crore) order pipeline and invest into growing the SaaS business exponentially.

Also read: Ion Energy: Giving EVs extra charge by optimising BMS